The present invention relates to a dwelling house stilt construction, built on sandy soils near the ocean or gulf, which is particularly resistant to destruction by high winds and flood waters.
Buildings constructed near the ocean are subject to severe storms, sometimes having winds of hurricane force and high flood waters. Often these buildings are constructed on sandy soil or sand itself. Sound construction practice requires that dwellings incorporate features of construction which can withstand these storms while sustaining only minimum damage.
Typical constructions designed to withstand such storms utilize pilings, ending below grade level, which support a concrete slab. Concrete blocks, laid up on the slab, form the first story and support beams upon which the second story is constructed. Such construction is expensive, both in the cost of material and labor. In some constructions, concrete block walls form only a central core area of the first story; outward of this central area, pilings extend upward to and support the second story. The sand soil allows lateral movement of the pilings; the slabs which they support, along with the dwelling above, may twist and tilt, causing water and sewer connections to break and walls and stairways to develop cracks and gaps. Pilings which extend above grade level without restraint thereat are subject to even more extreme shifting and tilting in the sandy soil.